Strong Schools Form Our Future Answers Community Questions

Another question that has come to the attention of the committee is: How does Special Education impact the expenses of our district?

In 2007-2008 there were 93 special education students, 46 birth through 6th grade and 47 in 7th through 12th grade.  All disability categories have stringent eligibility criteria defined by the state and federal governments and very stringent guidelines for service to these individuals.  The disabilities cover the gamut from mental, behavioral and emotional to medical and physical disabilities. 

The district must follow the state and federal guidelines in order to receive any state and federal education monies.  In the area of special education, the state and federal aid pays for 68% of program costs including salaries for teachers, wages for paraprofessionals and all materials.  Additionally, third party reimbursement, such as from insurance companies and medical assistance, pays for treatment for medical conditions or threatening behavior.  Therefore, the district only incurs one third of the expense for special education programs.

Another concern was the number of paraprofessionals (aids) employed by the district. Some people wonder why special education paraprofessionals are so much more prevalent in schools today.  This is due largely in part to federal special education legislation which mandates that all students be educated in the least restrictive environment possible.  In order to give students experiences in regular education classrooms, a paraprofessional is often required.

During the 2007-2008 school year, there were 18 paraprofessionals, the vast majority of whom worked in special education programs with the rest being assigned to primary classrooms in order to provide an appropriate adult to child ratio.  The amount of access each student has to a paraprofessional is dependent on the student’s needs for help in areas such as activities of daily living, moving from place to place, need for adaptations and accommodations to regular instruction and need for redirection and assistance with completing academic tasks.  Some students also need access to a paraprofessional in order to insure their own safety or the safety of others.

As noted above the wages for  paraprofesionals working in the special education programs are heavily subsidized by the state and federal governments.  It should also be noted that there is a plan in place to reduce the number of paraprofessionals by 2 to 3 for the 2008-2009 school year.